When large pipes are manufactured, flanges used for connecting and terminating pipes must be welded to the pipe by hand. For welders, the process of properly aligning the flange with respect to the pipe can be an arduous task. Not only must the flange be aligned perfectly parallel to the end face of the pipe, but the holes of the flange must be oriented properly. Often, it can be very difficult to take all of these relations into account. Moreover, the process of aligning the holes of the flange is exceedingly difficult due to the fact that no standard tools are designed to align the holes of a flange. For example, a common level is used to measure flat surfaces, not holes through a flange.
Accordingly, there is a present need for a tool which can be used to easily align the holes of a flange. The present invention is a flange alignment tool which may be used to properly align the holes of a flange, such that the flange is correctly welded to a pipe. The present invention uses a torsion spring which allows an inelastic ball to clip over one end of a hole and a ring to clip over the other end of a hole on a flange. To align a flange, this is done with two adjacent or opposing flange alignment tools and a level may be placed on top of the inelastic ball to gage if the flange is properly aligned.